Niels Bendtsen and Inform Interiors

Niels Bendtsen was born in Denmark in 1943. He moved to Vancouver in the early fifties . He began importing modern Scandinavian furnishings in the early sixties.

In 1972, he returned to Denmark to pursue his design education and to work for a number of European manufacturers. During this time Niels saw his 'Ribbon Chair' included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He established his own design and manufacturing firm, 2-B in Denmark and sold internationally for such clients as Terence Conran in his early Habitat stores.

Niels took over the management of Inform Interiors upon returning to Vancouver in the mid 1980's. He also a established and design and manufacturing arm to the company.

A variety of products have been designed and manufactured for the residential and contract markets. An early example includes the Aura chair and bar stool which were supplied to Starbucks and recently showcased on a Canadian Stamp promoting Industrial Design.

The currently line of furnishing are now being sold to a number of high end retailers throughout North America. Bendtsen continues to design for European manufacturers . Some examples include the popular Baku sofa for Montis and a new cabinet system, Intu' which should be debuting early next year.

Recently the design and manufacturing part of the company has moved to a new factory at 365 Railway Street.

Inform Interiors is an 8 000 sq ft furniture and lighting showroom in historic Gastown. As western Canada's foremost dealer of contemporary European furnishings, Inform represents B&B Italia, Kartell, Flexform, Fontat Arte, Artimede and Luceplan to name a few.

FUP Interview with Niels Bendtsen, June 30, 2000

Furniture designer and manufacturer, Niels Bendtsen, has been distinguished in virtually every major publication. He has a chair featured in the Museum of Modern Art and a chair featured on a Canadian Stamp. He may have begun the trend towards removable covers with his mid 1970s Skirt chair, and he may very well have started the move back towards quality, simplicity, and a successful union between expression and functionalism. He is definitely one of Full Upright Position's favorite and most prized contemporary designers.

Niels Bendtsen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark July 3rd, 1943. His family immigrated to Vancouver, Canada in 1951 when Bendtsen was 8 years old and his father, who was a cabinetmaker and furniture builder, opened a small factory there.

Bendtsen did not go through a formal design education, instead he grew up in the wood shop where his father designed and built Scandinavian furniture. His father had apprenticed with one of the most famous cabinetmakers in Copenhagen, and the skills he gained were all based in non-industrial, hand-built traditions. Bendtsen learned from his father's skills and openness to new technology as he went on to apprentice in his father's shop throughout high school and for some time after. While an apprentice, Bendtsen helped produce items but did no designing.

In 1963, at the young age of 20, Bendtsen left his apprenticeship and opened a retail store called Danet Interiors to sell his father's furniture. Eventually, Bendtsen began importing Scandinavian furniture because his father's furniture was slow to produce and could not satisfy the increasing demand. During this time, Bendtsen also began designing small items such as candlesticks and bowls which he sold in his store. Some of these small items later went into full-blown production through a company called Zamac. These items were diecast using a material that looked somewhat like iron.

While having tried his hand at it intermittently, Bendtsen did not seriously begin designing furniture himself until 1974 when a representative from the Swedish manufacturer Ljungvist (now defunct) visited his store. Bendtsen suggested to the Ljungvist Rep that most of the furniture Danet imported did not satisfy the real needs of consumers and the design world. The Rep proposed a challenge, "If you know so much, build it yourself". Soon after, Bendtsen sold his store and in 1974, at the age of 31, designed a large series of furniture for Ljungvist. Selling at high volumes, this very successful series, made mostly of Swedish Pine, included items such as chairs of many kinds and drafting tables.

This early design success found Bendtsen bombarded with commissions from numerous Scandinavian companies. Soon he found himself splitting his time living and working between Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Vancouver. Beginning with his move to Europe in his early 30's, and for the following ten years, Bendtsen continued to design for several Scandinavian Companies. While in Europe, Bendtsen also engaged in many competitions, designed accessories, and had exhibitions where the public was able to view his work. He was becoming very well known.

Bendtsen's designs were sought after for their freshness. Industrialization had left Scandinavian furniture in a state of low quality, low innovation, and a mass-produced aesthetic resulting in a design stalemate. Just as Danish design was dying, Bendtsen and a small group of others were beginning to rejuvenate the Scandinavian scene. Bendtsen, for one, wanted to bring back a simpler, fresher look that was more in touch with current needs and desires, while also trying to introduce an aesthetic that expressed new individualism and a return to quality.

 

While in Europe, Bendtsen was contacted by the Museum of Modern Art who requested his permission to add his Ribbon chair, designed in Denmark, to their permanent collection. It was an industrial product born out of Rationalism and designed specifically for a competition. The competition's criteria was for a chair with no more than a 5% waste factor and which had the ability to be mass-produced. As a result of the competition, the Ribbon was built, was sold by the thousands, and received the prestigious recognition of MOMA.

After eight years designing for other companies, Bendtsen became frustrated with most manufacturers' lack of understanding of the demands and needs of the design process, as well as with their resistance to new ideas. As a result, Bendtsen opened a practice in Copenhagen to design and produce items himself. At this time his dream was to design furniture that was accessible and affordable. Eventually, Bendtsen decided to shut down this design/manufacturing practice because his goal of producing large quantities of items while keeping prices low could not be achieved.

In 1980 Bendtsen bought back his old retail store in Vancouver and changed its name from Danet Interiors to Inform. He waited until 1984 to return to Vancouver to work full time at his store. This move would eventually prove very wise as Inform became a useful and successful vehicle for him to fulfill his design and manufacturing goals.

Bendtsen at first concentrated solely on retail, but soon found himself tired of not finding furniture that could satisfy his or his customers' tastes or needs, so he made plans to begin designing and producing once again. In 1990 he opened a small factory associated with the retail store and began manufacturing sofas. Fortunately, he found a way of matching the costs of production with the price to customers - all connected to good design, accessibility and simplicity. Bendtsen had discovered a correct level of production quality, affordability and aesthetics. He was not out to change the world like he had been earlier with his practice in Copenhagen, instead he had found a healthy balance.

While he continued designing products for the European market, Bendtsen also continued designing new products through Inform because "one is never satisfied." In 1995 he began producing case goods after finding a new machine that made this possible. His Inform furniture was now in high demand. So much so that he realized his manufacturing facility could produce more than they could sell out of their one showroom in Vancouver. So, in 1995-96 he began to seek out other retailers to carry the Inform line. Today, his line continues to be extremely successful and the design possibilities seem endless.

Bendtsen's work and approach to design is a rational one. He believes that the thread of what you intend should not be lost, that there has to be an idea behind what you do. The work should be functional and attention must be paid to appropriate proportion in every detail. Bendtsen believes his success partly stems from his experience both as a designer and a manufacturer (in fact, in the late 1970s he taught principles of the relationship between designers and manufactures at an extension school of the Academy in Denmark). It's part of Bendtsen's philosophy that it's never good enough to say, "this is what I want it to look like," as things work better if one is forced to actually take into account, and resolve, all design and manufacturing considerations (how something is put together, material and technology limitations, expression, use etc.).

Bendtsen had always been interested in art and design, so his evolution into furniture design was a natural one. He had no aspirations to do anything else. His father, of course, wanted him to be a cabinetmaker but this was not his fate. His parents led a life where their aesthetics and material possessions exemplified a non-ostentatious simple quality. This had a profound impact on Bendtsen and continues to influence his design process and aesthetic today (as does the love, that both he and his father shared, of tools, technology and the superior quality of handworked furniture).

Bendtsen also believes that a respect for modesty is important - this is evident through his furniture designs. He is not prone to flashy details. A lot of Bendtsen's designs utilize veneer because he believes that the use of solid woods isn't always appropriate. Also, if everyone wanted solid woods there wouldn't be any hardwoods left, and even if there were, no one could afford them. He says there is beauty in veneer and it's not new to this century (i.e. Chippendale utilized veneers) and these old pieces can be very prized. Furthermore, design-wise, you can't achieve everything you want to using solid woods. (His favorite wood is white oak in a very natural and very unfinished state, although none of his current collection is available in this wood).

 

Bendtsen's enthusiasm for design has not only remained but is continuously and increasingly revitalized. He explains that his next piece is always his favorite. He believes that his designs are appreciated and desired today because of their proportions, rationalized design and their simplicity - a look he's developed and perfected over time. When asked what design movement inspired him the most, Bendtsen refers to his history with his father and his Scandinavian background, but explains that today's design movement is getting closer to his personal aesthetic, more so than any movement he's experienced before.

Bendtsen says that today's designers are truly designing from the heart; calling upon a belief not a fashion. He acknowledges that much of this is driven by the consumer who is proclaiming, much to Bendtsen's relief, that a simplicity and honesty in function and material is essential. He feels strongly, and is excited, that this movement will evolve into something even better: products that are quite simple and quite expressive. While Bendtsen has been an innovator and leader in this ongoing design evolution all along, the public is finally on board, and now it's time for him to really push the envelope and discover just how far he can go.

Bendtsen recently changed the name of his company from Inform to Bensen. He is still designing for other companies and is, in fact, working on a large project in Holland to be disclosed at the Cologne Fair 2001. In the summer of 2000, in response to the needs expressed by Full Upright Position's customers, Niels Bendtsen designed a two-piece sectional version of his beloved Neo Sofa.

sources: Exclusive interview with Full Upright Position, 2000